Mining and loading apparatus having a collapsible disintegrating head



Nov. 6, 1962 c F OSGOOD 3,062,518

MINING AND LOADING APPARATUS HAVING A COLLAPSIBLE DISINTEGRATING HEAD 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 17, 1959 53 F r j;,

. 34 s lov 6 To as A A 4 4 l9 INVENTOR;

Nov. 6, 1962 C. F. OSGOOD MINING AND LOADING APPARATUS HAVING A COLLAPSIBLE DISINTEGRATING HEAD Filed April 17, 1959 FIG. 3.

3 Sheets-$heet 2 INVENTOR! MINING AND LOADING APPARATUS HAVING A COLLAPSIBLE DISINTEGRATING HEAD Filed April 17, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet i5 INVENTORZ United States Patent 3,062,518 MINING AND LOADING APPARATUS HAVING A COLLAPSIBLE DISINTEGRATENG HEAD Charles F. Gsgood, Franklin, Pa, assignor to .l'oy Manufacturing Company, Pittsburgh, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Apr. 17, W59, Ser. No. 807,153 19 Claims. (Cl. 262-9) This invention relates to mining and loading apparatus and more particularly to a continuous mining apparatus for dislodging mineral from a solid mine vein and for loading out the dislodged mineral.

In continuous mining apparatus of a known type a disintegrating head mechanism is sometimes employed in dislodging mineral from the mine vein and is operable to providing mine passageway or room into which the apparatus advances as mining progresses. The disintegrating head mechanism is usually pivotally mounted on a mobile base to swing in a vetrical plane between the mine roof and floor and may include a rotary drum mechanism arranged on a horizontal transverse axis and having teeth or bits which tear away and distintgerate the miner-a1. The apparatus also includes a conventional loading head for gathering the loose mineral on the mine floor and moving it rearward-1y and inwardly toward the forward receiving portion of the conveying means of the apparatus. In such apparatus the head mechanism is usually mounted to move laterally with the loading head and it is frequently disirable to load out loose mineral at the ribs and in corners and the great width of the drum mechanism interferes with the positioning of the loading head laterally close enough to the ribs or in corners to enable proper cleaning up of the mine floor. The present invention contemplates improvements over such known type of mining apparatus in that the mineral attacking and dislodging drum mechanism may be substantially reduced in its effective length to provide clearance at the sides to enable proper positioning of the loading head for loading out of the loose mineral on the mine floor close to the ribs and in corners. The disintegrating drum mechanism of the present invention has end drum portions which may be retracted relative to an intermediate drum portion substantially to reduce the effective length of the drum mechanism thereby to provide the necessary loading clearance at the sides of the loading head of the apparatus.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved mining and loading apparatus. Another object is to provide an improved attacking and disintegrating head mechanism for a continuous mining apparatus. A further object is to provide an improved disintegrating drum mechanism which has retractable side drum portions whereby the effective length of the drum mechanism may be substantially decreased. Yet another object is to provide an improved disintegrating drum mechanism having an intermediate drum portion and coaxial end drum portions together with improved means for moving the end drum portions a substantial distance out of their coaxial relation with the intermediate drum portion. Another object is to provide an improved continuous mining apparatus having a disintegrating drum mechanism swingable in a vertical plane above the loading head of the apparatus together with improved means for substantially decreasing the effective length of the drum mechanism during the loading operation thereby to provide adequate clearance at the sides of the drum mechanism to enable proper positioning of the loading head to load out loose mineral on the mine floor at the ribs and in corners. A still further object is to provide improved releasable drive connections between the side drum portions and the coaxial intermediate drum portion whereby the latter may drive the side drum portions and which is releasable at will to disconnect the side drum portions from the intermediate drum portion to permit retraction of the side drum portions. Still another object is to provide an improved rotary disintegrating drum structure. These and other objects and advantages of the invention will, however, hereinafter rnore fully appear.

In the accompanying drawings there are shown for purposes of illustration several forms and modifications which the invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a mining and loading apparatus constructed in accordance with a preferred illustrated form of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, with different positions of the disintegrating head mechanism indicated in full and dotted lines.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical section taken on line 33 of FIG. 1 showing a portion of the retracting means for the side drum portions.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section taken on line 44 of FIG. 2, with parts omitted, showing details of the drum mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross section taken on line 5--5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the mining and loading apparatus in a mine, with different operating positions of the apparatus indicated in full and dotted lines.

FIG. 7 is a partial plan view of the mining and loading apparatus illustrating a modified form of the retractable side drum mechanism, and with parts omitted.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal vertical section taken on line 88 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 7 showing another modified form of retractable side drum mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a cross section taken on line 11-11 of FIG. 10.

The continuous mining apparatus, generally designated 1, with which the improved mineral disintegrating head mechanism 2 is associated, may assume various forms but, for illustrative purposes, herein comprises a crawler base 3 carrying a frame 4 on which the head mechanism is pivotally mounted on a horizontal transverse axis, at 5, to swing in a vertical plane between the mine roof and floor. Pivotally mounted, at '6, on the front end of the base frame and extending forwardly and downwardly beneath the head mechanism is a conventional loading head 7 having oscillatory gathering arms 8 for engaging loose mineral on the mine floor and for moving the same rearwardly and inwardly toward the conveying means 9 of the apparatus. Conventional fluid jacks 10 serve to swing the head mechanism in a vertical plane about its pivot and the loading head may be tilted about its pivot by similar fluid jacks 11. Motors 12 at the sides of the base fram drive the head mechanism as later described.

Now referring to the specific structure of the head mechanism of the illustrative form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 inclusive it will be noted that a swingable head frame 15 has parallel vertical side bar portions 16 mounted at their rear ends at 17 on side frame portions 18 of the base frame. These side bar portions have marginal guideways about which endless bit carrying dis integrating chains 19 circulate orbitally, and drive sprockets 20, one of which is shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3, are secured to a horizontal cross shaft 21. The motors 12 drive through conventional reduction gearings 22 this cross shaft. A tube or tubular cross member 23 surrounds and is coaxial with the cross shaft 21 and is rigidly secured at its ends to the inner sides of the vertical side bar portions 16. Also extending between the side bar portions is a cross connecting frame or brace member 24 located at the forward portion of the head frame. The parallel side bars may be otherwise transversely braced as desired. Located between the forward ends of the vertical side bar portions, as shown in FIG. 4, is a horizontal intermediate disintegrating drum 25 carrying bits or teeth 26, and this drum is desirably keyed to a cross shaft 27. This shaft is journaled in suitable bearings 28 supported within inwardly directed circular bearing supports 29 integral with the vertical side bar portions 16. These circular bearing supports extend within end bores 30 within the drum and the latter may be longitudinally split into two parts suitably secured together as by bolts to facilitate assembly. Secured to the ends of the cross shaft 27 are chain sprockets 31 about which the endless side chains 19 pass whereby these side chains may drive the intermediate drum desirably in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2.

Coaxial with the intermediate drum are side or end drums 33 carrying peripheral bits or teeth 34 and end face bits or teeth 35. These side drums are suitably journaled on bearings 36 supported by outwardly directed tubular bearing supports 37 integral with side frame portions or guides 38 slidably guided in longitudinal guideways 39 along the vertical side bar portions 16. These side frame portions 38 are desirably transversely connected together by a cross connecting frame it) so that they may slide back and forth in unison relative to the side bar portions.

In this improved construction releasable means are provided for connecting the side drums in driven relation with the hubs of the chain sprockets which drive the intermediate drum comprising a shiftable clutch sleeve or clutch element 41 (FIG. 4) having clutch teeth 42 engageable with complemental clutch teeth 43 on the adjacent ends of the chain sprocket hubs and coil springs 44- urge the clutch members toward their innermost connected positions. The clutch sleeve 41 has an external piston 45 slidable within a cylinder 46 and fluid under pressure may be conducted through passages 47 in the guides 38 to the cylinders to effect outward movement of the clutch sleeves to release their connection with the chain sprocket hubs. Fluid under pressure, desirably liquid, may be conducted from any suitable source through flexible conduits 4-8 to the passages 47, under control of a conventional control valve means. Evidently the releasable connections between the side drums and the drive sprockets for the intermediate drum may assume various other conventional forms.

Various means may be provided for retracting the side drums relative to the intermediate drum to decrease the effective length of the drum mechanism and, for illustrative purposes, a hydraulic jack 50 has its cylinder 51 secured to the cross frame 40 and reciprocable within this cylinder is a piston 52 having its piston rod 53 pivotally connected at 54 to a rearwardly located cross connecting frame 55 likewise connected between the vertical side bar portions 16. Thus when liquid under pressure is supplied to the cylinder 51 the side drums may be moved rectilinearly back and forth out of and into coaxial relation with the intermediate drum. Trapping of liquid in the cylinder will lock the side drums in adjusted positions. However, under certain conditions a separate latching device may be employed to hold the side drums coaxial with the intermediate drum.

The side drums cooperate with the intermediate drum to provide an elongated rotary drum mechanism extending substantially across the front end of the apparatus a distance substantially equal to or greater than the Width of the loading head, and, if desired, the side drums may be axially elongated as indicated by broken lines at 33' in FIG. 1, to provide a full face drum mechanism which may dislodge the mineral from the working face to form a passageway in the mine vein of a width sufficient to receive the apparatus as mining progresses. By retracting the side drums rectilinearly relative to the intermediate drum the effective length of the drum mechanism may be readily and quickly substantially decreased.

In the modification shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 the side drums may be swung arcuately, instead of rectilinearly, rearwardly relative to the intermediate drum. In this construction, the side drums are journaled on side framesor swingable supports rigidly secured to a transverse rotary tubular support 61 suitably journaled in bearings 62 carried by the parallel side bar portions 16. A fluid jack 63 has a cylinder 64 pivotally mounted at 65 on lugs 66 secured to the tubular cross member or tube 23. This cylinder contains a reciprocable piston 67 having its piston rod 68 pivotally connected at 69 to a bracket 70 secured to the rotary support 61. Thus when the side drums are released from the drive sprockets for the intermediate drum they may be retracted arcuately about a transverse axis to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 8. By trapping liquid in the swing cylinder the side drums may be firmly held in retracted position.

In FIGS. 9, l0 and 11 the side drums are journaled on independently swingable side supports or arms 71 pivotally mounted at 72 on bracket 73 secured to the vertical side bar portions 16 of the head mechanism. Each side arm 71 has a fluid jack 74 having a cylinder 75 pivoted at 76 on a bracket 77 secured to the vertical side bar portion. Each cylinder contains a reciprocable piston '78 having its piston rod 79 pivotally connected at 80 to the swingable supporting arm. Suitable valve means may be provided for controlling fluid flow relative to the swing cylinders whereby the side drums may be separately or simultaneously swung arcuately, as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 9, about pivots parallel to lines perpendicular to the axis of drum rotation. Here, too, fluid may be trapped in the swing cylinders to lock the side drums in adjusted positions. Like the other embodiments the side drums contain shiftable clutches for connecting the same in driven relation with the drive sprockets of the intermediate drum.

The general mode of operation of the improved mining and loading apparatus is as follows: When the apparatus is located at the face of a mine vein, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the swingable head mechanism and the loading head 7 respectively may be raised to the mine roof as shown in dotted lines and to the floor level, and when the head mechanism is driven by the motors 12 the crawler base may be operated to sump the outer portion of the head mechanism into the mineral at the roof. The head mechanism may then be swung downwardly about its pivot 5 to effect disintegration of the mineral between the roof and mine floor. When the head mechanism assumes its lowered position at the floor level, as shown in full lines in FIG. 2, the crawler base may be operated to retract the head mechanism from the face.

The rotary drum mechanism dislodges and disintegrates the mineral of the solid mine vein and the disintegrated mineral falls to the mine floor where it is gathered and moved rearwardly onto the conveying means of the apparatus. The drum mechanism may be of substantially the same width as, or of greater width than, the loading head, as shown in FIG. 6, and may swing laterally with the loading head into different operating positions across the working face between the ribs. When it is desired to load out loose mineral close to the ribs or in corners the side drums of the drum mechanism may be retracted to decrease substantially the effective length of the drum mechanism thereby to provide side clearance so that the loading head may operate close to the ribs or in corners, as desired. At times, during the loading operation, the rotary drum mechanism may be lowered so that it may supplement the gathering arms in moving the loose mineral on the mine floor rearwardly toward the front receiving portion of the conveying means.

As a result of this invention an improved mining and loading apparatus is provided having loading means and an improved disintegrating head mechanism of a width substantially equal to the width of the loading head and which may be substantially decreased in its effective length to provide side clearance to facilitate operation of the loading means near the ribs and in corners. By the provision of the rotary drum mechanism having retractable side drums the effective length of the drum mechanism may be quickly and easily decreased. The improved releasable connections between the side drums and drive elements for the intermediate drum provide an extremely simple and effective means for driving the retractable side drums. Other advantages of the invention will be clearly apparent to those skilled in the art.

While there are in this application specifically described several forms and modifications which the invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that these forms are shown for purposes of illustration and that the invention may be further modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a mining and loading machine, the combination comprising a mobile base, a loading head on said base for gathering loose mineral from the mine floor, a laterally collapsible disintegrating head mechanism pivotally mounted on said base and extending above said loading head for dislodging mineral from the face of a mine vein, said head mechanism when in extended operating position being substantially of a width equal to the width of said loading head, and means for substantially decreasing the effective width of said head mechanism to provide side clearance for said loading head whereby said loading head below said head mechanism may load out loose mineral on the mine floor near the ribs and corners, said head mechanism when decreased in effective length being substantially narrower than said loading head while spaced equidistantly at opposite sides of the longitudinal center or" said loading head.

2. A mining and loading apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said laterally collapsible disintegrating head mechanism has bodily retractable side portions which are retractable relative to its intermediate portion to decrease the effective width of said head mechanism as aforesaid to avoid obstruction during operation of said loading head.

3. A mining and loading apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said laterally collapsible head mechanism comprises a rotary toothed disintegrating drum means disposed on horizontal transversely extending axis above said loading head and having an intermediate toothed disintegrating drum portion, said retractable portions comprise toothed side drums movable bodily into and out of coaxial relation with said intermediate drum while the drum axes remain parallel to a common straight line.

4. A mining and loading apparatus as set forth in claim 3 wherein said intermediate toothed drum portion has driving means and releasable connections are provided for connecting said side drum to a portion of said driving means whereby said side and intermediate drums when in axial alignment may be driven in unison, said connections being releasable to permit retraction of said side drum portions.

5. In a disintegrating drum mechanism, an intermediate toothed disintegrating drum, a swingable frame structure for supporting said intermediate drum, toothed side drums coaxial with said intermediate drum at the ends thereof, and means on said frame structure for effecting bodily retracting movement of said side drums out of coaxial relation with said intermediate drum while the drum axes remain parallel to a common straight line.

6. In a disintegrating drum mechanism, an intermediate toothed disintegrating drum, a swingable frame structure for supporting said intermediate drum, toothed side drums coaxial with said intermediate drum at the ends thereof,

means on said frame structure for mounting said side drums for bodily retracting movement out of coaxil relation with said intermediate drum, driving means for said intermediate drum, releasable connections for connecting said side drums to portions of the drive for said intermediate drum when the latter and said side drums are in axial alignment, said releasable connections comprising power devices carried within said side drums respectively and shiftable clutch means actuated by said power devices, and control means operable at will from a point remote from the drum mechanism for controlling said releasable connections, said control means operable to control the flow of power medium with respect to said power devices.

7. A drum mechanism as set forth in claim 6 wherein said releasable connections include a shiftable clutch device Within each side drum and releasable while said side drums are in axial alignment with said intermediate drum to permit retraction of said side drums as aforesaid, said powerdevices comprising fluid cylinders within said side drums respectively and said control means comprising valve means for controlling the flow of pressure fiuid relative to said fluid cylinders.

8. A drum mechanism as set forth in claim 7 wherein said remotely controlled means is effective to operate said clutch devices during operation of said drum mechanism to effect interruption of the drive of said side drums at will while said side drums are axially aligned with said intermediate drum and the latter continues to be driven.

9. In a disintegrating drum mechanism, an intermediate toothed distintegrating drum, a swingable frame structure for supporting said intermediate drum, toothed side drums coaxial with said intermediate drum at the ends thereof, and means on said frame structure for mounting said side drums for bodily retracting movement out of coaxial relation with said intermediate drum, said retracting means being operable to retract said side drums bodily rectilinearly along said frame structure rearwardly relative to said intermediate drum while the drum axes are maintained in parallelism.

10. A distintegrating mechanism for mining mineral from a solid mine vein comprising a swingable supporting frame structure having side bars disposed in fixed parallel relation and about the margins of which endless cutter carrying disintegrating chains are guided for orbital circulation, and rotary cutter carrying disintegrating drum means carried at the outer portion of said frame structure and driven by said side-bar chains, said drum means having coaxial drum elements and embodying means carried by said side bars for decreasing the effective length of said drum means while the fixed parallel relation of said side bars is maintained and the axes of rotation of said drum elements remain parallel to a common straight line.

1-1. A disintegrating mechanism as set forth in claim 10 wherein one of said coaxial drum elements is mounted for bodily retracting movement arcuately out of coaxial relation with another drum element about an axis parallel with said drum means, and there are provided means for mounting said retractible drum element for such arcuate movement on said frame structure, means on said frame structure for moving said mounting means as aforesaid, and control means operable at will for cont-rolling said moving means.

12. A disintegrating mechanism as set forth in claim 10 wherein said rotary drum elements com-prise an intermediate cutter carrying drum extending between said parallel side bars and retractable cutter carrying side drums respectively projecting from the outer sides of said parallel bars, and said means for decreasing the effective length of said drum means includes means for mounting said side drums on said side bars for bodily retractable movement in longitudinal vertical planes parallel with said side bars rearwardly relative to said side bars and said intermediate drum.

13. A disintegrating drum mechanism comprising in combination a support, coaxial toothed disintegrating drums mounted on said support and having their teeth moving in circular orbits about the drum axes, one drum driven by an element of the drive for the other drum, and means on said support for mounting said one drum for bodily retracting movement out of coaxial relation with said other drum while the drum axes remain parallel with a common straight line.

14. A disintegrating drum mechanism as set forth in claim 13 wherein shiftable means within said one drum is provided for connecting the latter drum to its driving ele ment after the drum axes have assumed an aligned position and releasable at will to permit retraction of said retractable drum.

15. In a disintegrating drum mechanism, an intermediate toothed disintegrating drum, a swingable frame structure for supporting said intermediate drum, toothed side drums coaxial with said intermediate drum at the ends thereof, means on said frame structure for mounting said side drums for bodily retracting movement out of coaxial relation with said intermediate drum, a fluid operated device on said frame structure for retracting said side drums bodily rearwardly relative to said intermediate drum, control means operable at will for controlling said fluid operated device to effect movement of said side drums forwardly from their retracted position into coaxial relation with said intermediate drum, and means for driving said drums when in said coaxial relation.

16. A mineral disintegrating mechanism comprising a pivoted supporting frame structure swingable in a vertical plane and having vertical side bars disposed in fixed spaced apart parallel relation, endless disintegrating chains guided for orbital circulation about the margins of said side bars, a rotary cutter carrying disintegrating drum means of uniform effective diameter driven by said chains and carried by said frame structure, said drum means comprising an intermediate cutter carrying drum portion journaled on said side bars therebetween for rotation about a horizontal transverse axis at the outer portion of said frame structure and retractable cutter carrying side drum portions projecting from the outer sides of said side bars at the opposite ends of and coaxial with said intermediate drum portion and retractable bodily rear- Wardly relative to said side bars and said intermediate drum portion, said side drum portions having supports movably mounted on said side bars, power means operable at will for bodily retracting said side drum supports relative to said side bars to move said side drum portions rearwardly to reduce the Width of said drum means along the axis of said intermediate drum portion, said side bars remaining in fixed parallel relation during such retraction of said side drum portions, and control means located at a point remote from said drum means for controlling the operation of said power means.

17. A disintegrating mechanism as set forth in claim 16 wherein said power retracting means for said side drum portions is operable to retract either of said side drum portions independently of the other relative to said intermediate drum portion.

18. A mineral disintegrating mechanism comprising a pivoted supporting frame structure swingable in a vertical plane and having parallel vertical side bars arranged in fixed spaced apart relation and about the margins of which endless disintegrating chains are guided for orbital circulation, a rotary cutter carrying disintegrating drum mechanism of uniform effective diameter driven by said chains includingan intermediate cutter carrying drum portion mounted for rotation about a horizontal transverse axis between said side bars and outer end cutter carrying drum portions projecting outwardly beyond the outer sides of said bars in coaxial relation With said intermediate drum portion, said end drum portions having supports movably mounted on said side bars, and power means operable at will for retracting said end drum portions and their supports bodily rearwardly relative to said side bars for reducing the outward projection of said outer end drum portions along the axis of said intermediate drum portion while said side bars are maintained in rigid spaced relation and the drum axes remain parallel to a common straight line.

19. A mineral disintegrating mechanism as set forth in claim '18 wherein said mechanism is associated with a loading head, said drum means being of an axial effective length at least equal to the Width of said loading head and said drum means when the outward projection of said outer end drum portions and their supports is reduced providing substantial side clearance for said loading head below :said intermediate drum portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 24,004 Howard May 17, 1955 2,695,164 Arentzen Nov. 23, 1954 2,788,202 Barrett Apr. 9, 1957 

